Best Buy site-to-store (and customer service) a bust

One of the gifts on my Christmas shopping list is an item I know nothing about. Said item is available at Best Buy, among other stores. We chose Best Buy based on their BizRate review coupled with the price they were offering.

Since I know nothing about this item, I planned to order it online (thank you, Google), but couldn’t find a free shipping code (shipping charges kill me). Upon closer inspection, I noticed BB offered a site-to-store service (similar to Circuit City or Wal-Mart, as Adesta mentioned).

This I could handle.

I placed all the items in my shopping cart, picked the Crossgates Mall store from the drop down and checked out. At 5:01 p.m. the order was complete.

Several places on the site, and within the order confirmation e-mail, warned of another e-mail — a pick-up slip — within 45 minutes (during store hours) of the purchase. The notation also said my item would be ready for pick-up within that time. By 7 p.m. I had not received the promised message and it was time to leave for the mall.

With no other option, I printed out my order e-mail and brought it to the store. This, said the first woman at the Crossgates Best Buy customer service, was acceptable (we’ll call her Serena) and it turns out the pick-up e-mail did end up arriving after I left the house.

Serena was new, a seasonal employee who wasn’t that familiar with this site-to-store feature. Despite her uncertainty, she did her best to help, looking in the alphabetical baskets behind the register for my merchandise, than consulting her colleague, “Kathy.”

Kathy sighed, looked at my slip and told Serena -with what I detected was a hint of annoyance- that there was no way my order was ready. Kathy then offered to collect everything (three pieces) herself.

How nice, I thought.

I bantered with Serena a bit and asked her what may have happened. She wasn’t sure, and thought the merchandise may have been collected, yet not brought to the front of the store. When Kathy returned a good 10 minutes later, we learned that was not the case.

Nothing was ready, she said (aka grunted), but here it was. There was only one problem: she wasn’t sure if one component was the same as what I had ordered. I, too, wasn’t sure. It looked right, but could have been another model.

Without speaking to me at all, and barely to Serena, Kathy punched at the computer. It froze. She then moved on to another. I asked what was happening (out of curiosity, and because I knew this situation was ripe for a customer service blog, which I had told Serena when we were waiting for Kathy). Kathy directed her answer to Serena, telling her the staff who usually gather these orders were unloading a “6,000 piece truck and hadn’t had time to get to the orders.”

“You have to give them at least an hour,” she spat at me, as if I’d popped in the store moments after clicking “check-out” on the store’s site.

“Can you please tell me what’s going on,” I pushed, irritation ladled in my voice. “This is supposed to be fast and efficient, yet I’ve been standing here watching you at the computer – and not getting any feedback about what’s wrong – for nearly 15 minutes. I have other shopping I would like to do.”

She had to find my order among the other 23 that had come in this evening, she said to Serena, and now that I showed up to collect my merchandise — and it had to be hand-picked off the shelf — they’d have to hand-pick all the orders (so much for automation). Apparently this extra work was all my fault.

After about 5 more minutes of silently punching at the computer, punctuated with exaggerated eye rolls and sighs and shifting from foot to foot, she declared the piece we’d both been uncertain about was correct. She’d brought it over in blue, though, and I wanted green. Without saying anything, she went and (quickly, I may add) got the correct piece.

I thanked her (I truly appreciated — and was surprised by — her speed). She forcefully set the case on the counter, spun on her heel and walked away, not looking at me and not saying anything. (As my shopping companion and I discussed afterward, this behavior was so female-specific {what man would basically stomp off?} and is a perfect example of why women get the big, bad, B-name.)

It was now 25 minutes from when I originally approached the customer service. In hindsight, I could have easily brought in a picture of the items I needed to purchase, found a staff member (other than Kathy) to help and checked out — a half-dozen times.

Serena looked at me sheepishly, as if to apologize, and asked me to sign my receipt.

27 Responses

May I suggest Circuit City’s in store pickup? They offer a 24 minute service. If your store pickup order isn’t ready within 24 minutes of the time stamp on your order confirmation, you get a $24 gift card. That’s how sure they are that your mdse will be ready. I haven’t had to invoke that guarantee yet. The products are always there, waiting for me. It’s a very smooth process and a clearly identified area of the store where you can go to pick up your order.

I’ve probably used the In-Store Pick Up option at Best Buy dozens of times, and I’ve never had an issue, aside from one time when I didn’t get the final “Your order is ready for pick up” email, and even then, I went in, and the order was set – it was an email issue, not a store issue. Granted, the Saratoga store is much closer to where I live, so I’ve never tried it at Crossgates, and maybe Saratoga’s BB employees are just better at Customer Service. I think your problem was probably employee-based, because when it’s working smoothly, it’s usually painless.

I love the option, though. Sometimes when an item on the site is cheaper than in-store, it’s a great way of getting the savings without having to deal with shipping costs and times. On the other hand, if it’s an item that’s at its regular price and you know they’re bound to have plenty of in stock, it’s easier just to drop by and grab the items off the shelf.

The one thing I dislike about people who write blogs is that due to one bad experiance with one company you write a blong and basically tell people never to shop or order at this place again. People are entitled to have a bad day, but they should not treated you as an annoyance. I dont know if you know, but Circuit City reportedly gave out several $100,000 last year alone because they could not get stuff picked quick enough. If all companies did this they would be in the same boat as “C.C.”.
The other thing that no one ever mentions is that Best Buy has one of the Best rated customer service histories in the industry (as a company as a whole over the last 7 years). I work in retail and I love shopping at Best Buy and I think their policies and customer service is very easy to deal with (at the 4 or 5 stores close to me).
Best Buy also tries to get all of the product from the truck to the floor in under 6 hrs (most stores(door to floor in 6)) that way, they can have the most amount of item on the floor so the most amount of people can get what they want.

The Circuit City 24/24 Site-Store process has been up at least a couple of years. I have used it several times and found the process to be seamless and very pleasant. The Circuit City people have gotten it right.

I used to prefer Best Buy even though dealing with the mall was a hassle. However, I tried to purchase a TV from them and since that experience I am now a Circuit City convert. I did all the research for my TV online. I knew exactly the TV I wanted. I went on a Sunday after the football games had stated figuring it would not be as busy. I found the TV I wanted and waited around until I could get someone to help me. The TV I wanted was stocked on the shelf but as I am a pretty slight woman I could have yes, carried the TV to the register myself but I expected someone to help me. The guy said if that is the TV you want just bring it over to the register. I left as I knew also carrying the TV to my car would be a hassle as well…

I went right over to Circuit City. They helped me in a matter of minutes. They open the TV packaging so you can make sure the TV looks good, they repackage it, and they put it in my car. I actually had an issue with the TV when I got it home. It is a Samsung 32″ LCD TV and it had a red line going down it. I called the store and they said to bring it back and they could exchange it. I did and exchanging it was just as easy as buying it. Since that experience I am a Circuit City convert – no more Best Buy for me… And Circuit City is so much easier to deal with as they aren’t located in the mall!

I think personally that this girl, Kristi Gustafson is a joke. No offense but none of her articles are really any good, and this one specifically irritates me. It seems as though she went into Best Buy wanting a certain outcome. As she states in the article this was “ripe” for a customer service blog. Its the holidays lady, dont you have something better to do with your time then go into a retail store in the mist of the holidays and bash a poor girl who probably worked an 8 hour day behind a customer service counter. Best Buy is a excellent store and Ive used the dot.com process before. She even states in the article she didn’t recieve the email that said your item is ready for pick-up , so technically it is her own fault!!! Secondly the items once the store gets noticed that the order has been placed have to be collected. It is very well possible that the store is very busy during this time and if in so they were unloading a truck the items may not have been collected. This also upsets me because whoever this poor “kathy” is has now been bashed in times union which to me is very unprofessional. She could have done the article and gotten her point across that the service was not great, without bashing the customer service girl. In the future I won’t be reading anything written by Kristi Gustafson and urge to really think twice about her articles, the point of them, and if they are entirely true. Its the holidays, a time for being patient and caring, not bashing a poor girl working behind a customer service counter!!!!

Susan, you say “She could have done the article and gotten her point across that the service was not great, without bashing the customer service girl.”

That is not true. To speak solely to the fact my item was not ready four hours after placing my order (despite a 45 minute promise) would mean I was not telling the complete story. We cover customer service issues here. Kathy’s lack of professionalism was as significant (if not more so) than the process not working as it should.

Perhaps the delay was circumstantial and could not be helped. Her attitude, on the other hand, is entirely under her control.

(Note to readers: “Susan” Googled me to get to this blog — so she’s not a regular reader — than specifically sought out this particular post, and none other. She also provided a false e-mail address. Take that as you will, but I’m thinking we may have Kathy — or a Kathy associate — in our midst.)

Marlon, it’s annoying how you ask off-topic questions on posts, like this one. It’s even more annoying that you disregard having any significant, insightful comments on post topics.

I’m confused by the site-to-store option. If you don’t know anything about a certain product, how can you order it online? You would need to know about the product in order to ensure you order the right thing. Wouldn’t it make more sense to go to a store, like Best Buy, and ask someone who works there about that product, and then purchase it there? That would also eliminate shipping costs. Also, when you didn’t get the pick-up slip in your email, why didn’t you just call Best Buy’s customer service phone number to ask them why you didn’t get it yet…that would’ve eliminated a trip to the store. I’m not sure if I entirely disagree with Susan, whomever she may be…you stated you saw a ripe opportunity for a customer service post…I know that’s your job, but my initial reaction after reading that sentence was that now I’m not sure how much of that situation was antagonistic on your part. I believe customer service is important, but it seems you skipped a couple steps in this whole process.

Amanda, I am going to try answering each of your questions separately.

I was able to order the item online because I knew the specifics of what the recipient wanted (I had the information typed out in e-mail from someone else), even though I knew nothing about the product. Let’s pretend I needed an iPod Touch with a blue case and an iTunes card. I was able to go on Best Buy’s Web site, type each of those into the search menu, and they’d pop right up. So, since the person I am purchasing my items for knows exactly what s/he wants, the Internet was actually easier.

There were no shipping costs with the site-to-store feature.

As for the pick-up slip. While we were leaving the house at 7, I knew I wouldn’t get to Best Buy till later (we were having dinner first). I got there at 9, as I stated — four hours after submitting my order. I was confident the slip would arrive by then, seeing as their estimate is 45 minutes. It had arrived (which the people at customer service were able to tell by looking in their system), I just didn’t have it since I’d left the house earlier.

I would have written about this experience/company feature as a customer service post whether it were good or bad since site-to-store is especially popular at this time of year, making the topic even more relevant.

Hope I answered everything. Oh, and as for Marlon, as I tell everyone — ignore him. Behavior stops when attention is nonexistent.

Yes, the timing makes sense to me now. The fact that you went to dinner first ties it all together for me. That was an unfortunate experience, and I’m a fan of going to corporate. You should – perhaps that’s a good route to go in order for them to rectify a shaky process.

Amanda Bytch much? I was commentting on something that was broached in this thread. As for my question Kristi knows what i was aksing about, and Im sure it was something you’d like to hear about. A new year is coming My dear why dont you make A resolution to stop being so Bytchy! It will do wonders for you socially!

I’ve used S2S with Circuit City many times and it’s always been pretty stress and problem free, but I always ordered stuff like DVD players, car stereos and appliances, stuff that you really don’t need to see and feel to make your final decision on. I’d never buy a television or something like that though, you really have to see those items in person to really make an informed decision.

We have used the site 2 store option at Walmart numerous times now and have only had one real issue with it (the backpack being canceled as I mentioned before). But unlike Best Buy, it’s not immediate at Walmart unless when purchasing it, it states on the site that the product we are ordering is actually in that store. So far, we have yet to order anything that is actually in stock at our Walmart. I don’t mind waiting, as what we order isn’t something that is needed right away, but with our order for the backpack being ordered in July and not ready by September and then being canceled that was aggravating.

Kristi, make sure you let the corporates know that you did receive good service from ‘Serena’ though…. :)

Kristi, we had a similar not-so-fun experience with BB….but not with Customer Service. We went in to the Albany store to get a specific LCD TV. When we asked if they had any in, the computer said there were two in stock. Except there weren’t two in stock, there were none. Ok, so we can’t get it in Albany, there are none in the Toga store, so we went home and checked online. According to the site, BB could not “deliver to our zip code” (mind you we live smack dab in Albany). After waiting on hold with BB Customer Service, the woman translated that there were no TV’s (that brand) in the Albany area warehouse. Fair enough. We the call Holyoke, Mass’s BB and oooh they have three of the TV left! (and the girl actually saw them!) We put it on hold and make the drive to Holyoke (about 1 hr 20 min). We get there, wait in line for 20 or so minutes, just to have the lady at CS say there is no TV on hold for us. !!!!!!!! We told the lady our story, and she was kind enough to get two managers on our case to come back with the TV that we put on hold! This story ends well, they ended up “finding” the TV for us….but enough with the pull and push already! Long story but still, we will not be shopping at BB anytime soon.

I used the Best Buy pick-up-in-store option this weekend. I placed my order in the late afternoon on Saturday. I noted the 45 minute “promise” which has a disclaimer attached, but I wasn’t planning on picking up my item until Sunday anyway. They are very clear in telling you to wait for the second email before trying to pick up your item.

My second email arrived on Sunday morning. Yes, it could have been faster but I assume they were short-handed on a busy shopping weekend when a large portion of the region (employees and customers) was without power. I printed out the email and took it to the store. When I got on the designated pick-up line, there was one person ahead of me being helped who appeared to be returning rather than picking up an item, but I’m guessing that with no one in the pick-up line the customer service people were using that register to expedite the customer service/returns line, which was adjacent and was fairly long.

Once it was my turn, the entire transaction took about 2 minutes. It took me longer to walk to and from my car than it did to pick up the item. Having a designated pick-up parking spot would be awesome, but I needed the exercise.

I have used Circuit City’s service in the past and have been quite impressed with them, but unfortunately CC didn’t carry the item I needed. I wouldn’t say I was particularly impressed with Best Buy, but I was satisfied.

Helen, I did receive that survey and filled it out yesterday. I gave the Web site high marks and the customer service low, low marks. I also included the lengthy description of exactly what happened when I was there.

While I would comment that it would be best to remove the 45 minute average from their site or have some other disclaimer during the holidays, this is perfectly reasonable and none of the people that I know have had a problem following these simple instructions. They clearly state that you should not come to the store until you get the notice to do so.

your site to store label is confusing. that implies shipping to store for you to then pick up like walmart offers. but best buy’s in-store pickup is hit or miss. all employees do is walk to shelf and bring it up front as you noticed. i believe they also use to give a gift card if item wasn’t ready, they’d have big clock behind counter from time you gave them your email until item handed over. it’s hit or miss. the employee’s behavior was terrible!